Apparatus for transmitting messages.



1.1.SHRRY & J. L. nu FRANE.

APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING MESSAGES. APPLICATION FILED-OCT. 3,1917.

Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. SHERRY AND JOHN L. DU FRANE, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING MESSAGES.

v Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

Application filed October 3, 1917. Serial No. 194,454.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that we, JOHN J. SHERRY and JOHN L. DU FRANE, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda andState of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Apparatus for Transmitting Messages, of which the-following is aspecification.

The present invention is an improvement in, means 'for sending messagestelegraphic or wireless.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a sending apparatuswith which one unskilled in the art of transmitting or one unfamiliarwith the codes may send a message either by telegraph or wireless relay.

A further object is to provide a means of repeating the messageindefinitely after the apparatus is set without human attention.

Obviously the accomplishment of these objects will result in a greatimprovement in the art and will be the means of saving life in manyinstances where wireless is used.

For instance, in the case of a ship afire at sea, an operator may, byusing this device, arrange a distress signal to repeat indefinitelyafter the ship has become untenable to human occupation. An abandonedship may be made to repeat the distress call and give its name andposition as long as it Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of the periphery ofan impulse wheel.

Fig. 3 is a side view of same with character forming slugs in placetherein.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a character forming slug.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a shaft driven by any motor,clockwork or suitable train of gears, preferably a weight drivengearing.

To the shaft 1 is secured a circular disk 2. Suitably secured to oneside of the disk 2 is a ring 3 having on its periphery a groove 4. Thebottom of the groove 4 is provided with a series of holes 6 boredradially and extending through the ring. I

The purpose of the groove 4 and holes 6 is to receive and retaincharacter forming slugs 7 and spacing slugs 8. The slugs 7 and 8 havecircular top and bottom edges adapted to fit the groove 4, the circularedges being coaxial with the ring 3.

The body portion of the slugs 7 and 8 are arranged to easily enter thegroove 4 and are kept in place therein by pins 9 which are rounded atthe base for easy entrance into holes 6 and are split and sprungslightly apart so that they expand after being forced through holes 6and prevent the slugs from falling out as the disk 2 rotates.

The upper edges of the slugs 7 are provided with notches 10 having onevertical wall 11 and one oblique wall 12 and a bottom wall 13. The slugs8 are on a level as regards height with the bottom walls 13 of thenotches 10.

The purpose of this construction is to operate, when the disk 2 isrotated in the direction of the arrow in-Fig. 1, a pawl 14 ivoted on abolt 16. The pawl 14 is provided with two lips 17 extending downward oneither side of the slugs 7.

J ournaled in the lips 17 isa pin 18 adapted to traverse the uppersurfaces of the slugs as they are rotated. It will be seen that the pawlwill rise as the pin 18 travels up the oblique walls 12 of the notchesand drops as it encounters the vertical wall 11.

The pawl 14 is normally depressed against the edges of the slugs by aspring clip 19.

secured to a piece 21 of insulative material. As the pawl 14 presses upthe clip 19 it con tacts with a clip 22 also connected with theinsulated piece 21.

In order to support pawl 14 and prevent its interference in case of agap in a message, we provide a stationary pin 20 suitably supported to awall or portion of the device.

The ends of the clips 19 and 22 are provided with binding posts 23 whichare connected with the wires of a telegraph line or with a relay andthence to a key in case of a wireless connection. The slugs 7 are ofdifferent lengths to form stops or spaces between letters or betweenwords as desired.

Each of the slugs 7 is stamped with the alphabetical or code equivalentof the character it represents, as shown at 24.

In order to easily change disks or messages thereon, we have provided acollar 26, the fiange'27 of which is screwed to disk 2. A set screw 27threaded into a hole in the collar engages a groove 28 in shaft 1.

What we claim as new and wish to cover by Letters Patent is A device fortransmitting telegraphic or wireless messages comprising a driven shaft,a disk removably attached to said shaft, a ring secured to said disk,said ring provided with a groove in its periphery, the bottom of saidgroove provided with holes and bored through said ring in radialdirections coaxial oted at one end and arranged to contactv whenreciprocated, spring clips suitably connected to an insulated block, andbinding posts on said spring clips for wire connection.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

JOHN J. SHERRY. Y J FRANE.

